Lenovo's Twisting Laptop Follows You Around the Meeting Room
The Future of Workstation Computing: Lenovo's AI-Powered Twist
Lenovo is once again pushing the boundaries of laptop innovation with its latest creation, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist. This device is designed to revolutionize the way we interact with our laptops in the workplace, offering a unique twist on traditional meeting room experiences. But here's where it gets controversial: is this the future of collaborative work, or just a flashy gadget?
The ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist is a twist on Lenovo's previous designs, such as the 2012 Lenovo ThinkPad Twist. This time, however, Lenovo is taking a functional approach by applying AI to its rotating screen. The screen doesn't just twist manually; it's motorized and uses the camera to follow you as you move around the laptop, like a physical version of Apple's Center Stage tech. This feature is particularly useful in meeting rooms, where presenting and sharing information with colleagues can be more engaging and interactive.
The device was first shown off as a concept at CES 2024, and it looks much the same now that it's finalized for commercial sale. However, Lenovo has made some improvements, such as a faster and quieter rotation. The laptop is set to be released in June 2026 with a starting price of $1,650. It's positioned as a lightweight (just over 3 pounds) work laptop rather than a powerful machine, running Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors. Its 14-inch 2.8K OLED display is sharp but not particularly bright (500 nits), making it suitable for indoor use.
At Lenovo's showcase area at CES 2026, I saw the Gen 7 Auto Twist in action as it rotated its display to follow me. It also has another AI-powered mode in which the screen lights up with two large kewpie eyes, giving the laptop a surprisingly companionable personality. It's meant to respond to voice commands as well, but the noisy demo floor made some of them hard to hear, so I'll chalk that up to the environment -- and note that it's not something I can personally vouch for in the finished laptop.
The Gen 7 Auto Twist is just one of many laptops Lenovo showed off at CES 2026, including its ThinkPad Rollable XD Concept laptop with a screen that rises vertically and its Legion Pro Rollable laptop concept intended for gamers to expand their display horizontally for better gaming on the go. Lenovo hasn't shared when, or if, those devices will be made into commercial versions, but since the Gen 7 Auto Twist was shown off at CES as a concept only two years ago, it's possible we could see either of those rollables reach the market in the years to come.
What do you think about Lenovo's AI-powered twist? Is it the future of collaborative work, or just a flashy gadget?
